'Riverdale' Showrunner Talks Vanessa Morgan's Return as Toni Topaz In Upcoming Episodes

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is dishing on Toni Topaz’s upcoming return on Riverdale!

The series showrunner opened up about Vanessa Morgan‘s character and what fans can expect in the show’s upcoming second half of season five.

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If you remember, Vanessa‘s real life pregnancy was written into the show, with Toni also becoming pregnant. About midway through filming the season, she took a maternity leave after welcoming her son River, causing Toni to also be absent for a while.

Now, she’s back and just as bad ass as before.

“I talked to Vanessa, and I was like, ‘when you come back, how much do you want to come back?’” Roberto shared with Decider. “And Vanessa was like, ‘I’m so in.’ We see Toni as a mother, we see Toni as a leader of the Serpents, we see bad-ass Toni come back, we see Toni fighting for the town alongside Archie. We see Toni having a deepening relationship with Fangs. And yes, we do bring Toni and Cheryl back in each other’s orbits, but in a way in which they compliment each other, rather than diffusing their impact.”

With both Vanessa and Toni both having given birth, some may be wondering if her real life son will be in the show. The answer is no.

“It is not Vanessa’s real baby,” Roberto confirmed. “In some scenes, it is a baby, a real live baby. In other scenes, it is a very lifelike doll. We jokingly say that it’s a little bit like that Apple TV show, Servant, with that creepy baby doll. But no, it is not… She’s rightfully so, protective of her child.”

While Vanessa does share photos with River on her Instagram, she maintains his privacy by covering his face.

Riverdale returns with new episodes TOMORROW (August 11) on The CW. The cast will also soon be heading back to Vancouver to start work on season six.

Vanessa is currently already in Vancouver as she’s been filming a new movie with Madison Pettis, Richard Harmon and more.